Cats (and People) Who Quilt

Cats Who Quilt -- Where Quilters and Cats Meet on the Web

Return to the main tutorial page.

Return to the main page.

Buy the book "Cats Who Quilt." Buy your cat the "Certificate of Membership in the League of Cat Quilters." Make your cat very happy. Buy other stuff too, like some of the other cat quilt pattern books featured on this Web site.

Read stories about special cats who quilt, submitted by visitors to this Web site. Submit your own story about your quilting cat.

Sewing Room Safety Tips for Cats--And Dogs

Please read these all-important sewing room safety tips for pets!

Free Cat Quilt Patterns to Download

World's Biggest Cat Quilt Pattern Database. Find cat quilting patterns in this "shareware" directory of cat patterns around the world.

Read excerpts from the book 'Cats Who Quilt'

Read more excerpts from the book 'Cats Who Quilt'

Read the Table of Contents of 'Cats Who Quilt'

Certificate of Membership in League of Cats Quilters'

Read about the Certificate which comes in the book, or can be purchased separately.

History of the Web site, and the book's rocky road into print.

You can read about me and find out why I do these crazy things.

Proof that all our needlework projects come from a higher source.

Is there a special guy in your life who helps run your quilting Web site, who drives you to fabric stores, who humors you with "Honey, but that quilt looks lovely!" when you're too embarrassed to pull it out of the closet? Honor your special guy here in our special feature Quilt Guy of the Month!

Looking for information on how to use a sewing machine with a blow stick or help for quilting if your eyesight is failing? Here's some help.

Is your cat from outer space or has she simply been abducted by aliens? Find out here.

"Using Clipart as the Basis of Needlework Designs"

This is Copyright 2002 Judy Heim. You may link to this Web page, but please, please don't distribute this material in e-mail messages or post it on your Web site or in your quilting guild newsletter without my permission. I don't make a lot of money as a writer, I'm only a scribbler because I'm seriously handicapped and can't make my living in any other fashion. I eek out a living as best as I can. I don't mind sharing what I write with other people, and in fact enjoy it very much. But when I find things that I've written on other people's Web sites without my name and used without my permission, it's hurtful and it's frustrating. In the past year I've found entire chapters of books that I've written posted on other people's Web sites without my name or my permission. I've also found essays that I've written circulating anonymously on mailing lists and in newsgroups. Please respect what other people write. I'm happy to share, but I ask only that my work be respected. If you'd like to republish this material, I ask only that you drop me a note requesting permission.

Beautiful needlework designs are as near as your bookstore's clipart aisle--and your scanner!

Want to create a pattern of fluttering doves or beribboned angels, but despair that your drawing skills are capable of rendering only stick figures? Get yourself some clipart. What is clipart? It's canned drawings (or photos) that you can usually use in craft projects without paying lisencing fees. (See the discussion about copyright for more important information on this tangled issue and how it relates to clipart.)

Art and office supply stores are full of clipart CD-ROMs these days. Is this the stuff to buy? No.

What you want to shop for are books of clipart. They're cheaper than CD-ROMs--usually $5 to $10 each. They're easier to use too--you can just flip through the books to get ideas, ogle the art at your leisure. You can scan images you want--and in the manner that you wish to scan them. I like to keep a bookshelf full of clipart books to peruse for inspiration.

Clipart CD-ROMs in comparison are a pain to sift through to search for appropriate art. Once you find an image you want to use you need to use image processing software to convert it a format, size, and resolution that's appropriate to your design and your design software. And frankly few of the clipart CD-ROMs contain art that's appropriate for needlework designs, although you might not guess it from looking at their beautiful boxes in the store racks.

You want to buy the Dover clipart books (yes, this is a plug). Several of the needlework designers interviewed for this book rely on Dover books for designs and inspiration. And if you stroll through the aisles of a cross-stitch store you'll probably spot patterns based on Dover art. Dover publishes many beautiful books full of Victorian and Art Nouveau art, both in color and black and white. (All the angels in this book are from Dover's "Full-Color Angel Vignettes.") You can get a free catalog by writing: Dover Publications, Inc., Dept 23, 31 East 2nd St., Mineola, NY, 11501. Tell 'em you want the clipart catalog.

You can also buy Dover books at many book and art stores.

Judy's Clipart CD-ROM Buying Advice:

Occasionally you may be tempted to buy a clipart CD-ROM. As you know, I'm not a big fan of these. But if you are intent upon purchasing one, try to determine what's inside its box before you whip out your wallet. Obviously, if the box is shrinkwrapped this will not be easy. But some boxes are taped closed so it's entirely likely that the flap will fall open moments after you pluck it from the shelf, if you know what I mean. Look inside the box for a book that shows pictures of the art on the CD-ROM so you don't have to thrash through all those CD-ROM directories (that can take hours). Also, keep in mind that the images on the CD-ROM may not be similar to the ones shown on the box. There's one clipart CD-ROM who's box is festooned with cupids and Victorian greeting cards. But its advertised 10,000 clipart images are mostly the same sort of dorky cartoons and office-party announcements you find packaged with wordprocessors and drawing software.

What You Can Do with Clipart

You can turn it into crewel designs.

You can combine it with other pieces of clipart to create new designs.

You can import it into cross-stitch design software and chart it for cross-stitch, needlepoint, rug-hooking, or plastic canvas.

You can print it, then trace it by hand on tissue to create an embroidery design. Or, you can trace it on your computer screen with the help of a drawing tablet.

You can print it directly on fabric with your computer printer.

How to Select Clipart for Use in Stitching Designs

If you plan to use the clipart as the basis of a crewel design, select black and white art with simple lines. Some of those Art Noveau motifs are gorgeous, but can you really stitch all those lines? Don't rule out vigorous use of your paint or graphics program's eraser tool to get rid of excess lines or details.

If you plan to chart the art, look for images with good contrast and crisp colors. Also look for art with good color gradations. Personally, one of the things that attracts me to cross-stitch are designs with high contrast between the colors.

If the art is of a figure, I pay special attention to where
the individual is looking and how they're moving if they
appear to be in motion.

Gilbert Goldfish began life as clipart trapped in the confines of Photo Shop.

Computer techniques transformed him into an applique and embroidery pattern. Beads, metallics and ribbon were used to outline and embellish fins and scales.

Quilty Line Break

Cats Who Quilt is a trademark of Fruitful Plains. Text on this Web site Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Judy Heim. May not be reproduced in any form--in either e-mail messages or on Web sites without written permission. All illustrations are copyright 2000, 2001, and 2002 Irina Borisova. They may not be reproduced without permission. Photos and quilts are copyrighted by their respective artists, and may not be reproduced without their permission.